Celebrating the Opening of Schools Mass Aug. 24, Washington Cardinal Robert W. McElroy thanked educators in schools across the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, “for all you do to form the hearts of our young people,” and he prayed God would bestow “strength and patience in the new (academic) year” upon them.
Cardinal McElroy was the principal celebrant of the Mass in which he expressed his “profound gratitude for the many sacrifices you (teachers and school staffers) make for students, their families and each other.”
Washington Auxiliary Bishop Juan Esposito and 25 priests concelebrated the Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. It is offered each year just before students return to their classrooms. For the 2026-2027 school year, Catholic schools in the archdiocese resume classes between Aug. 25 and Sept. 1.
A choir comprised of students from Saint Jane de Chantal School in Bethesda, Maryland sang at the Mass that was attended by about 2,000 people including Catholic school teachers, principals, administrators, support staff, members of the archdiocesan Board of Education, officials from the Catholic Schools Office and others.
Speaking of the philosophical differences between the “order of nature” – which takes a pragmatic, practical look at life – and the “order of grace” – which considers the work of God in creation – Cardinal McElroy urged the educators to choose the latter.
The order of grace, he said, “points consistently to the presence of God” and leads a person to “look at the beauty around us every day … (and) sense the oneness with that which binds us together.”
“Seize on the glory of God and the beauty that life offers us,” Cardinal McElroy said, as he told the educators that “the principal and unique role of Catholic schools is to point always to the order of grace … for that is the way of Christ.”
Pointing to the Gospel reading for the Mass (Matthew 5:1-12) recounting the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus teaching the Beatitudes, Cardinal McElroy said, “the Beatitudes call us to conform our spiritual lives after Christ Himself.”
“I urge you to teach your students … (and) call forth in them the aspirations of the Beatitudes,” the cardinal said.
He also told the educators to teach virtues such as forgiveness, mercy, courage, sacrifice, and patience because those actions “radiate the truth of Christ.”
“Teach virtues that stay with students and change their lives,” Cardinal McElroy told the educators as he called them to be “exemplars of virtue” themselves.
Educators in Catholic schools are “called to share not only their knowledge with their students, but also their faith,” the cardinal said.
During the Mass, Cardinal McElroy commissioned the educators to “commit to serve and continue to grow as missionary disciples of the Lord” and encouraged each to recognize their “important role participating in the ministry and mission” of the Church.
He also blessed the educators and reminded them that their profession is one “filled with grace and mission and sacrifice and purpose.”
He thanked Catholic school staffers for “helping to guide them (students) to greatness.”
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has more than 24,000 students enrolled in 90 Catholic schools – ranging from preschool through high school – located in the District of Columbia and the five surrounding Maryland counties: Montgomery, Prince George’s, Charles, Calvert and Saint Mary’s.
Speaking on behalf of her fellow educators, Kelly Branaman – the Secretary for Catholic Schools and Superintendent of Schools for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington – said, “each one of us here today is privileged and grateful to extend and share in the ministry” of Catholic education.
At the end of the Mass, 17 schools and 48 educators celebrating significant anniversaries this academic year were honored. Branaman congratulated the honorees for their “remarkable history of dedication educating and forming many students and their families in the Catholic faith.”
The honorees were presented with certificates by Cardinal McElroy; Branaman; Chris Buchleitner, associate superintendent of schools for the archdiocese; and Jennifer Monger, assistant superintendent for Catholic identity and academic excellence.
These are the schools in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington that this year are celebrating significant anniversaries:
25th Anniversary
Our Lady’s Little Christians Early Learning Center, Waldorf, Maryland
Washington Jesuit Academy, Washington, D.C.
30th Anniversary
Christian Beginnings Preschool of St. John Vianney Catholic Church, Prince Frederick, Maryland
45th Anniversary
Saint Mary’s Ryken High School, Leonardtown, Maryland
60th Anniversary
Saint Elizabeth Catholic School, Rockville, Maryland
65th Anniversary
Academy of Saint Matthias the Apostle, Lanham, Maryland
Connelly School of the Holy Child, Potomac, Maryland
Holy Cross School, Garrett Park, Maryland
Saint John the Evangelist School, Clinton, Maryland
70th Anniversary
Saint Jude Regional Catholic School, Rockville, Maryland
75th Anniversary
Archbishop Carroll High School, Washington, D.C.
80th Anniversary
DeMatha Catholic High School, Hyattsville, Maryland
85th Anniversary
Our Lady of Lourdes School, Bethesda, Maryland
95th Anniversary
Holy Redeemer School, College Park, Maryland
105th Anniversary
Saint Vincent Pallotti High School, Laurel, Maryland
175th Anniversary
Saint John’s College High School, Washington, D.C.
205th Anniversary
Gonzaga College High School, Washington, D.C.
The following are Catholic school staffers who this year celebrate significant anniversaries:
25 years
Theresa Anastasi, Saint Andrew Apostle School, Silver Spring, Maryland
John Arias, Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, Washington, D.C.
Victor Bah, Bishop McNamara High School. Forestville, Maryland
Julia Constable, Saint Bartholomew School. Bethesda, Maryland
Jacqueline Cowger, Cardinal Hickey Academy. Owings , Maryland
Shawn Dougherty, Bishop McNamara High School, Forestville, Maryland
Michael Haight, Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, Olney, Maryland
Leigh Hampton, Saint Pius X Regional School, Bowie, Maryland
Brenda Hare, Saint Vincent Pallotti High School, Laurel, Maryland
Devin Hochhausler, Our Lady of Victory School, Washington, D.C.
Garry Imes, Bishop McNamara High School, Forestville, Maryland
Margaret Klimczak, Saint Pius X Regional School, Bowie, Maryland
Debbie Kucevich, Saint Pius X Regional School, Bowie, Maryland
Jeanette McCarthy, Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, Olney, Maryland
Mary Beth McLoughlin, Saint Elizabeth School, Rockville, Maryland
Karen Panciera, Saint John the Evangelist School, Clinton, Maryland
Leonor Ponzio, Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, Washington, D.C.
Joseph Samugnaro, Gonzaga College High School. Washington, D.C.
Maria Saucedo, The Woods Academy, Bethesda, Maryland
Charles Shryock IV, Bishop McNamara High School, Forestville, Maryland
Julie Stinger, Saint Martin of Tours School, Gaithersburg, Maryland
David Tenney, Saint Vincent Pallotti High School, Laurel, Maryland
Scott Waller, Gonzaga College High School, Washington, D.C.
Irma Zavallos, Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, Olney, Maryland
30 Years
Joseph Cabigas, Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, Olney, Maryland
Heather Campos, Saint Jerome Academy, Hyattsville, Maryland
Lori Carter, Saint Mary of the Mills School, Laurel, Maryland
Beth Henehan, Saint Vincent Pallotti High School, Laurel, Maryland
Maria Joya, Sacred Heart School, Washington, D.C.
Hilary Lewis, Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, Washington, D.C.
Susan McDonough, Saint John’s School, Hollywood, Maryland
Joy Podorski, Saint Vincent Pallotti High School, Laurel, Maryland
Kimberly Wood, Saint Thomas More Catholic Academy, Washington, D.C.
35 Years
Carol Corgan, Gonzaga College High School, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Barbara McGraw Edmondson, Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, Washington, D.C.
Amy Hoffmaster, Saint Francis International School, Silver Spring, Maryland
Vaughn Holsey, DeMatha Catholic High School, College Park, Maryland
Luis Lopez, Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, Washington, D.C.
Eileen Scovitch, Pallotti Early Learning Center at Saint Mary of the Mills, Laurel, Maryland
Elizabeth Smith, Saint Bernadette School, Silver Spring, Maryland
40 Years
Christine Brant, Saint Mary of the Mills School, Laurel, Maryland
Virginia Cooper, Saint Bernadette School, Silver Spring, Maryland
Debbie Corradini, Saint Pius X Regional School, Bowie, Maryland
Bernadette McDonnell, Saint Pius X Regional School, Bowie, Maryland
Catherine McNulty, Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School, Takoma Park, Maryland
45 Years
Sue Foreman, Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, Washington, D.C.
50 Years
Brother Thomas Sweeney, SDB, Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School, Takoma Park, Maryland
Cheryl Hanton, Saint Augustine Catholic School, Washington, D.C.
